Bishop Vincent visited the Dimitrievsky Church under constructiontranslated

November 8, 2026 commemoration of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. His parents, secret Christians, baptized him and instructed him in the faith. His father, the Roman proconsul, died when Demetrius reached adulthood. Emperor Maximian Galerius, who ascended the throne in 305, appointed Demetrius in his father’s place as ruler and governor of the Thessalonian region. Demetrius's main duty was to defend his region from external enemies, but the emperor also demanded that he exterminate Christians. Demetrius instead began to eradicate pagan customs and convert pagans to the faith of Christ.

Of course, the emperor was soon informed that Proconsul Demetrius was a Christian. Returning from a campaign against the Sarmatians (tribes inhabiting the Black Sea steppes), Maximian stopped in Thessaloniki. Preparing for death, Demetrius distributed his property to the poor, and he devoted himself to prayer and fasting. The emperor imprisoned the proconsul and began to entertain himself and the inhabitants of Thessaloniki with gladiatorial battles in the circus. Christians were searched for and dragged into the arena. The perky Leah, famous among gladiators, easily defeated meek Christians in battle and, with the rejoicing of the brutal crowd, threw them onto the spears of the soldiers.

The young man Nestor, from Christians,...